NextgovTimes are a changin' for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
In the past, it was the supercool, secret sauce-worthy stuff NGA did to deliver world-class geospatial intelligence to warfighters, stakeholders and decision-makers on which the agency focused the majority of its efforts.
In recent years, with the explosion of publicly available open data and tools like cloud computing, startups and talented data gurus have encroached on what used to be territory occupied by NGA and its partners.READ MORE

Sensors & SystemsAt last week's GEOINT Symposium, organized by the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, the keynotes and many of the sessions continued to express the theme that we are experiencing a geospatial revolution. The parallels between the geopolitical disruption in the world, the fuel for the geospatial intelligence mission, and the technological revolution, which is being spurred by convergence of technologies, was not lost on many.READ MORE

Tech CrunchUber will acquire assets from Microsoft Bing, including roughly 100 employees focused on the product's image collection activities. In short, Uber is absorbing data-collection engineers from Microsoft to bolster its own mapping work.
The companies confirmed the transaction with TechCrunch, but each declined to name the terms of the agreement.READ MORE

CoreLogicAs a GIS professional, you understand that robust and quality data is at the heart of every business decision including land-use planning, mineral exploration, tax compliance, transportation, as well as infrastructure development and management. However, collecting data from various local government and other resources can be expensive, time-consuming and error-prone. Sadly identifying a single and trusted provider of quality data is not always easy. Until now.READ MORE

U.S. Department of DefenseThe role of geospatial intelligence in making American special operators the best in the world cannot be understated, said Theresa Marie Whelan, the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations/low-intensity conflict.
"In the course of the hand-in-glove operational and intelligence work that has spanned over a decade in two theaters, (special operations forces) operators and battlespace owners have come to expect premier intelligence collection, data and all-source analysis that paint a very clear picture of the battlefield," Whelan said.READ MORE

Smart Grid NewsThe Internet of Things may very well be the future, and a group of senators wants to make sure the government has some say. The senators sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office asking them to research IoT.
The group of senators are a bipartisan mix made up of Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii; Deb Fischer, R-Neb.; Cory Booker, D-N.J.; and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.READ MORE

Directions MagazineLarge corporations have been using GIS software analysis for years now, and the impact is clear: the information they gain is helping save time, money and resources. The fast food giant Wendy's, for example, has a team of analysts that scrutinize GIS collected data to determine what the annual profits of a new location are likely to be. Thanks to this GIS investment, company executives estimate that they've saved over $750,000 over the past two years on marketing research costs.READ MORE

GIS UserSomething on the Esri blogs this week giving us a clue as to what we can expect to see on the main stage at ESRIUC this July — ArcGIS Earth — Esri's new effort to support the transition to an ESRI solution from the Google Earth Pro environment. Created to address the growing demand for 3-D, Esri is rolling out a new tool to provide an "immersive and visually compelling experience only 3-D can provide."READ MORE

Inside GNSSQ: Are there special considerations for dealing with raw GNSS data?

A: Most GNSS users are only interested in position, velocity, and/or time (PVT) information provided by a receiver. In fact, most mass-market GNSS receivers (e.g., those in cell phones or in your vehicle) only provide PVT information along with some supporting data (such as the number of satellites tracked, dilution of precision, course over ground, and so forth).READ MORE